


I Need A Doctor

by Slim_N_Dre



Category: Dr. Dre (Musician), Eminem (Musician)
Genre: Bottom Eminem, Hip Hop, M/M, Suicide Attempt, Title from an Eminem Song
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:48:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slim_N_Dre/pseuds/Slim_N_Dre
Summary: A story about what inspired 'I Need A Doctor'. I'm giving little description for a reason. Short but worth the read.
Relationships: Dr. Dre & Eminem, Dr. Dre/Eminem
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	1. Ch.1

(Spring of 2010) 

Marshall walked back into the studio after having been in a lunch meeting with corporate to discuss the release of his new album, Recovery. He, Dre, and the crew at Shady Records had spent the last year making a more mature follow up to his last album. There wasn't a song on the new album that he didn't like. There were others that had featured Dre a few times that he really wanted to use but Dre made him scrap every single one of em. Dre even made him scrap a few of the songs he had produced. He didn't mind though. He knew Dre was a perfectionist and had been particularly picky with his work lately.   
He stepped into the studio and read over the list of ideas they had come up with while in the meeting. Now they just needed to decide exactly when to release it and how they wanted to market it. He was confident that it would be a success either way. He looked around the room and thought about what he should do now. There was always this weird lull between albums. It was hard for him sometimes to decide whether he wanted to take a break for a month or two after releasing an album or just keep going and start working on a new one. He decided to put the notes aside and instead work with his engineer to see if they could at least go through some of the old beats they hadn't used and toss them so that they had a clearer slate on the board to start fresh. As they sorted through, they set some aside that they thought would be good for other artists on the label and tossed others that Marsh wasn't really feeling. Every once in a while they'd come across a beat that Dre had made, he made sure to save those incase he wanted them for later no matter how badly Dre had wanted him to just throw them away months ago. Their cleansing session was broken up by Paul Rosenberg stepping in while finishing a phone call. 

"Marshall." Paul said sternly while beckoning for Marsh to follow him. 

Was he in trouble?? Corporate didn't like the album? Copywrite issues? What could possibly be the issue now? 

Paul led Marshall back towards their conference hall. Oh no. Not another meeting. As they walked in he found the room empty, just the two of them. 

"Sit down." 

Marshall reluctantly sat down while continuing to scan the empty room for any sign of what was going on. 

"Paul you're kinda giving me a vibe like I'm about to get fired or something." 

"You're gonna wish you were." Paul paused before taking a deep breath "Dre's attorney just called me." 

"Dre's suing me!?" 

"What? No. Marshall I'm serious."

"Then why'd his attorney, of all people, call you." 

"...Andre was in a really bad accident and we might have to cover it from TMZ." 

"What?! Like a car accident?? How bad?" 

"Well... the accident was definitely bad. Totalled his car to shit but it's a bit worse than we thought." 

Marshall found himself holding his breath, terrified of what Paul was going to say next. 

"Dre is in the hospital. He's pretty beat up but the doctors are saying his gonna be alright. A few cuts, bruises, broken ribs, whiplash, but that's about it." 

Marshall let out the breath he had been holding "So he's going to be alright? Paul I'll be honest you kinda had me thinking this was worse than it is." 

"Well... it kinda is." 

Marshall looked at him confused

"His attorney also told me that they were kinda confused on how the accident happened. No other cars were involved. No one else in the car besides Dre. So when he went to the impound lot where his car had been towed to grab whatever Dre needed from his car, he also grabbed Dre's dash cam. He took it home and plugged it in to see if he could maybe figure out what caused the accident and... well..." 

Paul pulled out his phone and handed it to him.   
Marshall inspected the two sides of the split screen before pressing play on the video. On the top half of the video he could see that the dash cam faced out so that he could see outside the front windshield. The bottom half of the screen showed a different camera view in which was pointed at Dre in the driver's seat.  
His expression changed from curious to shocked as he watched. The video started with Dre just driving the scenic route of Big Sur. About a minute in Dre's expression changes from a blank stare and grows into a look of pain. Marshall can tell by the outside view of the car that as the video goes on, Dre's speed increases. Tears start to stream down Dre's face before he decides to attempt to drive his car off of the bridge. The footage turns into a mess of color as Dre's car instead clips the guard rail, causing the car to flip a few times before coming to a stop. The last shot shows Dre unconscious and bleeding with his head laying against the now deflated airbags. 

He didn't know what to do. 

He sat motionless and stared down at the video that had now ended. If he didn't know any better he would have thought Paul had just showed him his best friends death. Paul eventually took the phone out of his hands. He could hear that Paul was talking to him but he couldn't actually hear what he was saying. All he could hear was the sound of the crash.


	2. Ch. 2

Marshall blinked and found himself alone now in the room. He blinked again and now found himself in his car having already driven half way home. He didn't remember leaving. As he drove he tried to collect his thoughts but he couldn't get it out of his head. He made his way home and headed upstairs. He felt numb. He locked the door behind him as he walked into his master bedroom and towards his bathroom. He turned on the shower and stripped. He didn't even bother waiting for the water to warm up before getting in. He just stood there and let the ice cold water run over him. The water changed until his skin was starting to turn red from the heat. He couldn't find the energy to adjust the temperature. His chest started to burn with pain as the blank expression that had been glued on his face now changed. 

He broke down.

He had already lost one best friend and he was terrified of losing another. Even though he knew Dre was fine it still scared him. He bit his lip as he thought about the part that scared him the most: Dre had done this to himself. It was no accident. That's why Paul and Dre's attorney were trying so desperately to keep the information from getting to TMZ. He reached his hand out of the shower and grabbed his phone. He attempted to call Dre's phone but it went straight to voicemail. It had to have broken in the crash. 

Eventually the water ran cold and he decided to get out of the shower. He threw on some sweat pants and crawled into bed. He grabbed his phone again and this time called Paul. 

"Are you alright?" 

"I need a plane." 

"... okay. Yeah um I can do that." 

"ASAP please." 

"I know. Just give me a few minutes and I'll text you the flight info okay? And I'll take you to the airport so you don't have to drive." 

"Okay... thank you." 

"Of course... Marsh wait. Just... I'm here okay?" 

"I know." 

"I'll text you in a few minutes." 

Marshall waited for Paul to hang up and then proceeded to wait until Paul was able to send him his flight info. He would be leaving from Detroit at 6 in the morning and would land at LAX at 8a.m. Los Angeles time. It was still mid day but he didn't care, he continued to lie there and try to sleep anyways. 

He slept for a few hours but was awoken by a nightmare about the crash. He thought about calling Nicole to see if she could give the phone to Dre but he figured Dre probably needed to rest and take the day easy. As he continued to lie there, pieces started to come together. Dre constantly doubting his own work. Having trouble making decisions for himself. He was starting to look skinnier but not in a healthy way, he looked recently like he just hadn't been eating. Marshall knew Dre had some issues with depression but didn't everybody? He knew it had gotten bad back in 2008 when Dre's son died and he also knew that Dre had never really recovered after that. I mean, what parent could recover after that? Marshall would be torn if anything happened to any of his 3 girls. He couldn't even imagine the pain Dre felt. Especially after TMZ leaked pictures of Dre carrying his son's coffin at the funeral. That's just cold. Dre had been so standoffish since and you'd think he'd just pour it all out into his music but no. Dre had been disappearing sometimes mid session and threw out almost every song he made. 

It killed Marshall to think that his best friend had been struggling for so long and he somehow never noticed. Dre did everything for him. Gave him everything he ever could have asked for in life. The least he could do was protect Dre from whatever demons are tearing him apart right? Yet he didn't. He didn't even know they were there. Marshall had struggled with suicide a few times before himself, hell he had a "slit me" tattoo on his wrist for Christ's sake, but he thought Dre was stronger than that. His thoughts continued to spiral as he remembered more and more times where he could tell something was just off about Dre. Eventually these thoughts tore him down into a deep sleep. 

His alarm seemed to blare and his stomach pained him. He probably needed to eat but it could wait. He made himself get up and was at least able to make some coffee before he packed whatever he could think to bring. He had no idea how long he'd be gone but if he needed to he could always just wash his clothes or buy new ones. On the way to the airport Paul told him that he had rented a car for him and that it would be at the airport waiting for him in LA. He also told him that Dre had been released from the hospital the night before and should be at home but to call his attorney when he landed to figure out what's going on. Marshall hugged Paul before getting on the plane. Not a side hug, a real hug. He really needed it. Marshall was grateful to find breakfast ready on the private jet and a note from Paul that read "eat if you can". After eating, he tried to sleep for the rest of the 5 hr flight.


	3. Ch. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit long

Anxiety took over as they descended back to the ground. He was scared to see what condition Dre was in. What if Nicole found out it was a suicide attempt and had him sent off to a mental hospital? As he walked off the plane and was given the keys to the rental, a text popped up from the attorney: 

"Just stopped by the studio in Malibu, Dre decided to have an early session today. Should still be there when you get there." 

Marshall hopped in the car, set his GPS and made his way to Dre's Malibu studio. He had luckily landed right at the end of the usual morning traffic so the drive was relatively easy. He took a deep breath before entering the studio. Dre always liked to get there before everyone else but he normally never did a session this early in the morning. He was almost hoping others would be there but at the same time he wasn't sure if anyone else knew about the accident or the fact that it wasn't an accident at all. He also didn't know if Dre knew he was coming. As he walked down the hall towards the actual studio he could hear a beat that was still in it's beginning stages. He stopped at the doorway and looked in, Dre was by himself in the usual head to toe black attire, aside from his white shoes. Marshall noticed though that Dre was wearing an oversized hoodie and sweatpants which wasn't like him. He normally at least put actual pants on. He continued to stand there silently and watch as Dre slumped back into his chair, visibly frustrated with the way the beat was starting. It was still new so it wasn't perfect but it still sounded pretty good so far. He watched as Dre went to delete what he had come up with so far.

"Don't do that." Marshall said it before he could stop himself 

Dre seemed confused at first before realizing the source of the voice. 

"Holy shit. Marshall!"

Dre got up quickly but was stopped by the pain in his ribs. Marshall instead made his way over to him and wrapped his arms around him gently. He wanted to hug him harder but he didn't want to hurt him. His chest tightened and his eyes watered as Dre seemed to almost clutch onto him rather than just hug him back. They hugged for about as long as they normally did before Marshall started to let go but then quickly decided against it. Instead of trying to let go, Dre closed his eyes and laid his head slightly on top of Marshall's. They stayed like that for another minute before deciding to let go. Marshall looked up at Dre's face and searched for signs of pain whether it be physical or emotional but he couldn't find any. He looked happy. Like always. 

"Are you alright?" 

"Yeah I'm okay. Couple broken ribs n shit like that but I'm good." 

Dre had a small gash and a bruise on his forehead probably from hitting in on the steering wheel but other than that not any other noticeable damage. Dre continued to talk on a bit about the crash, his car being totalled, not having a phone, and the animal that ran in front of his car. That's the part that caught his attention. He saw the video, there was no animal. Dre was lying to him. That meant he didn't know that he had seen the video. Dre might not even realize the video exists at all. Hm. 

Dre drew the attention away from him and back towards the beat, Marshall convinced him to give the beat another chance. Dre continued to work on it for a bit before getting frustrated again, Marshall calmed him down and convinced him instead to try again. He had to do this a few times before Dre started to calm himself down and try again. Marshall sat as close beside Dre as he could without getting in his way. Eventually he got up and stood behind him, gently rubbing his shoulders when he noticed him starting to get mad again. He placed his forehead on the back of Dre's head and whispered into his neck 

"Dre I promise you it doesn't sound as bad as you think it does." 

He let his arms wrap around Dre's shoulders. It hurt him to see him get so discouraged. This man was once his mentor and now was almost silently begging him for help. He felt a few tears drip from Dre's cheeks onto his arm. He quietly wiped Dre's tears and wrapped his arms just a bit tighter. 

"You're alright. Just keep going." 

Dre took a deep breath and shook his head a bit before continuing to tweak the beat. It took a while but Dre ended up fully focusing on the sound like he use to. Marshall sat on the couch against the wall directly behind them and gave Dre his space to work. He felt himself getting pulled in by the music and grabbed a notebook and pen from the side table. He bobbed his head for a bit and let a melody form in his head. 

'I told the world, one day I would pay it back... you picked me up... it just dawned on me you lost a son... get up Dre...' 

The lyrics seemed to pour out of him. Everything he wanted to say to him but didn't know how to. He felt tears stream silently down his face and onto the pad as he wrote. He quickly wiped them away hoping that Dre wouldn't notice.

'Dre I'm crying in this booth' 

2 verses and a chorus. It only took him about 15 minutes and it definitely wasn't perfect but that didn't matter. He rewrote it onto a cleaner sheet of paper and asked Dre to let him record. Dre seemed surprised but was always ready to try to make a new song so he let him in the booth without hesitation. Marshall didn't really want to record the song but he wanted Dre to hear it. He guessed he could have just let him read it but he wanted him to actually hear it first. He decided to skip the chorus and do just the verses instead. He kept his eyes on the paper the entire time, even in the blank space where the chorus was supposed to be. He didn't want to look at Dre. He was already having to try not to cry while saying it but actually looking Dre in the eyes would make it worse. Plus, he was scared. He had no idea how Dre would react to this. He would either try to argue with him about what he said or he'd realize everything he was saying was the truth. He didn't want to argue with Dre. Especially not now. 

As he finished the last of the 2nd verse he finally looked up from his paper and saw Dre looking up at him from where he sat on the other side of the glass. His brows were furled and he definitely wasn't smiling. He looked almost mad. All Marshall wanted to do was help him, why would he try to fight the help so hard? Marshall built up the courage to walk out of the booth. Dre was now sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed, still staring blankly at where Marshall had been standing just moments before. Dre bit his lip and furled his brows a bit more before he winced hard in pain. Marshall rushed over to him. Did he need to take him back to the hospital? Marshall gently tried to help him stand up but it was no use. Dre stood for a second before deciding to sit down again, this time on the floor. Marshall got down to his level to try to get him up again but as he went to grab Dre's arm Dre grabbed his hand instead and pulled him closer beside him. Marshall tried to hug him but as Dre tried to hug him back they both lost balance and fell so that they were now laying on the floor. They laid on their backs in silence for a while, Dre's tears staining the carpet as they fell. Marshall let his own tears fall as he looked over at his friend and again felt so helpless. He decided to break the silence. 

"Are you okay?"

"...yeah..."

"I cried when Paul told me about the accident." 

"Why?" 

"Worried about you." 

"Did he not tell you I was fine?" 

"No he did..." 

...

...

"...you saw the video didn't you?.." 

"..yeah.." 

Dre sighed "I'm sorry." 

"Don't be. I get it." 

Marshall scooted as close to Dre as he could and slipped his hand into his 

"You mean more to me than you realize Andre" 

Dre held his hand a bit tighter "you mean a hell of a lot to me too." 

"Please don't ever do that again. I can't lose you Dre. I didn't survive a fucking overdose just for you to leave me... please just call me next time. I don't care if I gotta book a flight to come see you right then I'll do it." 

"...I've been like this for a while and I don't think I'll ever really go back to normal." 

"So what. We weren't normal to begin with. I'll be not normal with you. I promise I'll help you through this. I promise. Okay?" 

"Okay." 

They laid there on the floor together for a while talking until Marshall was able to get a smirk our of Dre. Dre reached for the notepad that Marshall had been using earlier. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Writing a third verse." 

End


End file.
